We really have seen a major shift on ending violence against women

Julie Bindel is right to warn that it is "action, not platitudes, which will prevent men getting away with crimes against women" (A chance not to disappoint, 22 April). In recent years we have seen a plethora of policies, action plans and initiatives to tackle rape, domestic violence, forced marriage and other forms of gender-based violence.

While these are welcome, they have often been under-resourced, disconnected and focused on the criminal justice system - even though the vast majority of women don't report the violence and abuse they experience.

Bindel also points out that "there is evidence that young boys consider it fine to hit a woman or force her to have sex". Furthermore, key services such as Rape Crisis centres, specialist domestic violence projects and support for minority women are facing a funding crisis, and there has been little work to change attitudes or prevent violence in the long term.

It's understandable then, for Bindel to assert: "The UK is far from being a 'leading light' in tackling this type of violence, despite the history of feminist campaigns against it." But let's give the politicians a chance. In addition to London mayor Boris Johnson's draft strategy on violence against women, which Bindel mentions, the Home Office is conducting a wide-ranging consultation on a national strategy.

Our coalition has been calling for national and local governments to plan for the eradication of all forms of violence against women - a UN obligation for many years now, and an approach that the Scottish government has been developing for some time.

Bindel warns that both the London and national strategies are under-funded and risk sitting on shelves gathering dust. But let's be clear: they represent a major policy shift towards more effective ways of tackling violence against women.

Critically, they are based on the principles of human rights and gender equality, putting prevention of violence centre stage and committing to better support for victims - whether or not they choose to report to the police. This is a massive success for our coalition of women's organisations, human rights campaigners, feminist activists and others who have fought hard for this change.

And it very much looks like there's a race between the parties to show who is more committed to tackling this issue - no doubt with an eye on chasing women's votes in the next general election. But of course it is right that resourcing of these strategies will be key. As Bindel says: "The banks have been bailed out with billions, and yet women - more than half the population - have to make do with a tiny proportion of that."

So we are at a critical time. The parties' policies on violence against women could either become beacons of excellence, driven by genuine political will and resourced properly to move us closer to a safer world for women. Or they could prove the cynics right and use arguments about the economy to trade women's safety. Let's give the politicians a chance to prove themselves.